Congratulations to our newly minted class of Midlands Master Naturalists! We recently celebrated their achievement with a nature hike at Congaree National Park, where we saw the largest loblolly pine in the nation.

The graduates of this 12-week course have traveled around the midlands learning identification skills, ecological concepts and the natural history of the plants, animals, and ecosystems of the midlands. They have also learned how this knowledge applies to wildlife management and to ensure that human impacts on the environment are sustainable.

SCWF offers a variety of naturalist programs through out the year, covering the fundamentals of natural history, nature interpretation, and conservation in order to empower citizens to donate their time to positively impact our natural resources. You can learn more about these programs here.

THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS, INSTRUCTORS, VOLUNTEERS & HOSTS WHO MAKE THIS PROGRAM POSSIBLE!

First & foremost, thank you to Austin Jenkins who developed the program and course materials for the Midlands class, and to James Blake who coordinates the statewide program.

We are proud to have the support of the following organizations for the Midlands Master Naturalist Program:

Clemson Extension, Camp Discovery, Richland Soil and Water Conservation District, Goodale State Park, Carolina Sandhills National Wildlife Refuge, Congaree National Park, SC Dept. of Natural Resources, Landsford Canal State Park, Harbison State Forest, SC Forestry Commission, and the Midlands Master Naturalist Association.

These many partnerships enable us to provide a high quality program conducted by a diverse group of expert instructors, including: Austin Jenkins, Chanda Cooper, Jay Keck, Andrew Lazenby, John Nelson, Kevin Kubach, David Jenkins, and Vaughan Spearman.

Thank you also to all of these folks for behind-the-scenes logistics assistance: BeBe Dalton Harrison, Dee Dee Williams, Lyne Askins, Nancy Jordan, Grant & Sara Fordham, Matt Schnabel, Beth Foley, John Wells, David Groh, Sara Green, and Beverley Roberts.